Month: January 2018

The Tennessee Titans got out to the start they needed against the New England Patriots Saturday in the Divisional Round.

After marching down the field, rookie Corey Davis got his first career touchdown reception after reaching out with his left hand and securing the football all the way to the ground:

But one week for Smith. One week, while Webb gets his feet wet and makes final preparations to play the last four weeks so the Giants can see what they have in the young kid, starting Dec. 10 against a beat-up Dallas team.

But this offering was too frightening to ignore. So, after staring at the picture for a few minutes in disbelief, I emailed the PR guy who sent it to me. I said, “Whoah, Max, this is nuts. What’s in the buns to make them blue?”

Max responded immediately and told me he was checking for me. I wrote back, “Thank you!!!” A few minutes later he emailed me again and said, “Through food coloring.” He included a smiley face emoji.

Few receiving partners are casing and solving NFL secondaries better than these two, who’ve had 19 games of 80 or more yards over the past two years (12 by Thielen, seven by Diggs), third in the league. Which is a pretty big deal in these parts. When Diggs passed 900 yards in Week 16 last year, they became the franchise’s first 900-yard couple since Randy Moss and Cris Carter, in 2000. And if mentioning the new guys in the same breath as those Minnesota legends feels like heresy, consider Moss’s testimony: “Vikings fans have been waiting a long time for this moment to come back.”

Any Space Jam fan will probably tell you that the Monstars didn’t need or have secret stuff. After all, why would they after absorbing the basketball skills of the NBA’s best? It was Michael Jordan who had the bottle, so in the film it read “Michael’s secret stuff.” It’s what the Tune Squad needed for motivation and, eventually, the win (that and Jordan realizing he can be super elastic for the game-winning dunk).

The Saints faced a third-and-1 from their own 36-yard line, and decided to pull tricks out of their back pockets to get the first down, behind 20-14.

The Normal, Ill., native was anything but this week, following 27 points and 13 rebounds in a win at Iowa and 32 points to go with seven boards in a win over No. 1 Michigan State. His 135.5 offensive rating in Big Ten games ranks fourth in the league, and in league play he’s second in defensive rebounding rate and third in true shooting percentage.

But the Saints wouldn’t go away easily. Brees led his team back, converting a clutch fourth-and-10 before New Orleans kicked a 43-yard field goal with just 29 seconds to play — a kick that seemed to sentence the Vikings to another playoff loss in Minneapolis.

But one big pass from Keenum — and an embarrassing whiff from defensive back Marcus Williams gave Minnesota one last crack at the win. At first it seemed like Diggs would just gain enough yardage to set up a long field goal attempt. A split second later, it was clear he’d walk untouched into the end zone, the consequence of the biggest blown coverage of 2018.

There’s inconsistency, but the last three weeks have been something else. It’s been borderline hopeless for this team to find any kind of offense, sustained or otherwise. And at this point, there’s no Marshawn Lynch to lean on, and the defense isn’t in a position to carry them. They might get to the postseason—it will only take a home win over the Cardinals and the Panthers beating in Atlanta team that finds creative ways to lose games—but to do anything in January Seattle would need Wilson to elevate his game to a level he’s never (and maybe no one’s ever) played at before, at a time when he’s in the worst slump of his career.

A bit of history could be in the works in Seahawks-Cardinals: According to NFLPenalties.com, Germain Ifedi is one flag away from being the first offensive player to draw 20 flags in a season (since 2009, which is as far back as NFLPenalties.com’s database goes). So, have your camera ready for the big moment. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some kind of on-field ceremony to commemorate the milestone, before the flag is sent off to Canton, of course.

He followed that sack up with a beautiful dance that included flailing arms and some hip thrusting. Five thrusts, to be specific.

You might be wondering why those thrusts (or pumps, as some refer to them as) mean anything.

The Buffalo Bills caught a break near the end of the first half after being unable to get the ball in the end zone, but they didn’t quite take advantage of it in a long, exhausting, and funny drive.

The Bills called a timeout after failing to get the Jaguars to jump on fourth-and-1, which seemed like a questionable decision so close to the end zone. But it ended up paying dividends.

After Tom Brady accelerated the young corner’s education with 384 passing yards and three TDs in that AFC title game rout last January, Burns went home, took his brothers bowling and to the county fair, and returned with them to Pittsburgh, where he looked often to a certain inside linebacker for advice. He got engaged, started every game and was reestablishing the integrity of the Steelers’ secondary when Shazier was injured.

“His body control is spectacular,” Hinch says. “It allows him to cover any area on any pitch, but especially the high fastball. His bat speed is probably within an abnormally high range, and when he swings he gets the bat where he needs to get it on time.”

A fast story: Altuve faced Yankees reliever Chad Green in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series. Green threw the most difficult four-seam fastball in the league last season; batters hit just .109 against it. Altuve had seen Green only once in his career. He promptly whacked a 97.2-mph high heater from Green into leftfield for a single.

Everybody lost. At least it felt that way. Over the past four days, four of the top five teams in last week’s AP poll fell. No. 3 Arizona State lost at Colorado on Thursday. Providence took down No. 5 Xavier by nine on Saturday. North Carolina State beat No. 2 Duke by 11 that night. And No. 1 Michigan State closed the weekend out on the wrong side of an 80-64 game with Ohio State.

And that’s not to mention LSU knocking off No. 11 Texas A&M on the road thanks to a wild buzzer-beating three from freshman Tremont Waters, Colorado also ending No. 14 Arizona’s nine-game winning streak, Georgia Tech beating No. 15 Miami, No. 12 North Carolina losing both its games, and sub-.500 Stanford and Vanderbilt topping fringe Top 25 teams UCLA and Alabama, respectively. In all, 14 of 25 ranked teams suffered at least one defeat in the last seven days.

The Jaguars had to lean on T.J. Yeldon in Fournette’s absence. During the regular season, Yeldon played in 10 games, rushing 49 times for 253 yards. He also had two touchdowns on the season.

When the Eagles took the lead 12-10 late in the third quarter, they followed by kicking off out of bounds. Perfect situation for the Falcons at their own 40 — and on the final play of the quarter, Devonta Freeman whiffed on a blitz pickup and let Ryan get dropped for a 10-yard loss.

That guy is such a competitor that we know he’s working every single day, Pouncey said. It would be nice to have him out there last week, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s getting his body right, and he’s going to be ready to play.

Plug “You couldn’t write a script like this” into Google and one will find an endless series of articles ripping that oft-used sports cliché to shreds. Rightfully so. But is there a more effective way to summarize what former Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas did in Game 2 against the Wizards? This was a “30 for 30” documentary playing out in real time: During a thrilling career year, a brash and late-blooming 5’9” Mr. Irrelevant lost his sister in a tragic car accident, only to play through the grief and score a career-high 53 points while leading an overtime victory in the playoffs against a top rival. All on what would have been his sister’s 23rd birthday. “The least I could do is go out there and play for her,” an emotional Thomas told reporters. Later, it came out that he had battled a nagging hip injury throughout the playoffs, too.

Somehow, that was only the first half of Thomas’s story in 2017. A stunning summer blockbuster between the East’s top two teams—Boston and Cleveland—sent him to replace Kyrie Irving as LeBron James’s running mate. Like DeMarcus Cousins, Thomas was left to contemplate loyalty, and he has since expressed second thoughts about his decision to play through an injury that has kept him sidelined through Christmas. On the bright side, his return to Cleveland will be one of the most important early stories in 2018: The NBA needs his personality, James needs his scoring and playmaking, and the Cavaliers need all hands on deck to challenge the Warriors. For Thomas, 2018 will represent his first true chance to win a title and his best shot at a major payday after spending years as one of the league’s most underpaid stars.

…place to visit back home in Chandler, Ariz. “My favorite food is pizza and in my opinion there’s the best pizza place in the world there. It’s called Venezia’s. It’s been a place my family has gone to ever since I was little. It’s the thing I crave every time I go back home. If you ask anyone in my family what my favorite thing to eat is, it’s pizza and wings from Venezia’s. It’s kind of a running joke in my family. Just cheese pizza and wings. That’s my favorite meal. It reminds me of East Coast pizza. I was born in New Jersey so I’m kind of used to that type of pizza. Venezia’s is in the East Coast style.”

Dotted with skaters out for a mid-afternoon twirl, the public popup ice rink at Seattle Center offered a fitting backdrop when the engine of NHL expansion roared to life again.

You want to be there and help out, but you kinda have to disconnect yourself because they’re nothing you can do about it.Torchetti said Vanek has become a mentor to Red players, including speedy 22-year-old Andreas Athanasiou.Granger was the winning pitcher when the USA Softball team that won the sports’ first Olympic gold medal 1996.Rookie B.J.28-year-old Vereen tore his triceps muscle twice last .

Yes, should the Chargers lose for the first time ever four home against the Jaguars, Rivers would remind us all that 14 remain the .Ball is up the air for about it seemed like ten seconds.that second week of the 2015 , the Bills were playing the New England Patriots.Hill was racking up the yards at an All-Pro clip.

From CBS Los .The Raiders finally allot 25-plus carries for the ground attack to chip away at the defense and edge Tennessee on the road.They going to come at me head hunting.The ex-Oklahoma State star was like a bull a china shop rushing off the edge on the way to six tackles, two quarterback hits and a sack against the Green Bay Packers on Friday.

But Francesa’s voice, first paired with Russo in 1989, and then solo since 2008, really has sound-tracked so many New York afternoons for almost 30 years. Francesa’s shows were often the only place to find extended interviews with embattled coaches and obstinate jocks, alongside the calls from preening Yankee-lovers, despondent Mets fans, and the sadsacks who wanted to spend but 90 seconds talking hockey. Francesa made an art of sparring with callers, sometimes condescending to them, sometimes berating them. It was all an act, he has said, but he has performed this act for tens of thousands of hours of radio. Those who would consider themselves his biggest fans know no other version of Mike Francesa.

And deservedly he bade his almost-farewell from a museum. WFAN invented the sports-talk radio format, and Francesa was the station’s biggest sports-talking star.

I know the schemes, what they expect of me and I know what to expect of them, Crick said.He’s playing with efficiency we have not previously seen, even his 5-yard assault 2011.Louis Post Dispatch.Shot by Reilly Smith.Foye is still dealing with a right hamstring strain, so he’ll be sidelined for a fourth straight game.

I saw him going, and I knew it was over.He also ranks seventh assists.Normal Defense Lineup #1 – , Carlson are on ice for Stars.- The New York Times April 9 Another thing that further clouds Rubtsov situation is he spent most of the the MHL and didn’t have that opportunity to shine that the World Championships would have provided.

Mike McCarthy, head coach, Green Bay. I thought the design and the play-calling on the tying and winning drives in the 26-20 win over Tampa Bay were very good. McCarthy knows he can’t totally trust Brett Hundley in the passing game, so he designed some read-option for Hundley, and that resulted in the crucial two plays of the winning drive. Hundley made a beautiful fake into the gut of Jamaal Williams and ran around right end for 18 to the Bucs’ 41-yard line; then he faked a jet sweep and dumped a pass to Williams along the right sideline for 12 more. One other thing: The Packers won a game they had to have using Brett Hundley (fifth round, 2015) and backs Jamaal Williams (fourth round, 2017) and Aaron Jones (fifth round, 2017) as the key weapons on that final 72-yard drive in overtime. That’s good playing, and good coaching. Kudos to the oft-embattled McCarthy.

Jayson Woods, 28, of Nampa, is accused of helping Schneider as he beat and robbed of his car, wallet and other possessions.This isn’t mind-blowing from the Oregon offense; it simply found a safe way to easily get the ball ‘ hands space.It was a phenomenal experience.However, on the evening of .The Wizards have been careful to manage Mahinmi’s workload since he returned to action earlier this month after requiring injections back December to ease the pain both of his knees.pillar of their house, but sending forth the new founders with good hope.

The three-hit performance also extended the 6-foot-4-pounder’s hitting streak to 10 , during which he’s batting .447 with 17 hits, eight runs scored and five RBIs.It had been raining all night and morning.Great news.With the top-4 QBs all gone, the Texans address the need to get more athletic the middle of the field on defense.While it helps a lot to clear the smoke inside, the louvers do not close tightly.He joined the team as a backup center who could also fill at guard.

He later missed the final 10 games of the due to a dislocated left shoulder.And you can bet that they’ll know exactly what’s at stake when they take on the Jazz tonight’s contest and be prepared to fire on all cylinders.

And I thought that was pretty funny because I know he was very irritated that that was the second time the shovel went after him.

I never ran a train off the track and I never lost a passenger.However, he was placed on Injured Reserve after suffering ACL injury a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on 1.

With no receiver older than 23 on the roster, it would make sense for the Saints to add a veteran before offseason workouts begin earnest.When the Oakmont cheerleaders took center court for their halftime routine, they would have to compete with Bruschi, who was under the basket leaping into the air and doing toe touches.A goal he had set over the summer has now been met.

“It’ll force us to be more integrated on our development programs with the [U.S. Soccer] Federation. I’ll force the [Development] Academy teams that are not affiliated with MLS to perhaps think more about what they need to do, like we have been with DoublePass and the Federation to get better. Bring in better coaches. Maybe they address some of the structural challenges that exist at the youth level. Maybe we are more open to thinking about the Tyler Adamses of the world maybe playing [in MLS] for a year or two then going overseas … and a dozen other things like that.”

“We’ve seen that at least in the success of some Miami teams, having a local owner has been one of the factors,” Garber said. “We’ve been working hard on trying to find a local owner for David Beckham. I feel confident that that will come together. I continue to say that we want Miami in the league … there are a lot of values to us having a team down there, and I remain confident that we’ll get something done.”

I believe the Colts wanted to deal cornerback Vontae Davis but couldn’t, with his $9 million salary in 2018 an anchor to those chances.

The Browns blew the A.J. McCarron deal. Say whatever you want about paying too much (second- and third-round picks) for a guy more likely to be a backup than a starter, but from all reports, EVP of Football Operations Sashi Brown did agree to the deal just before the 4 p.m. deadlineand then failed to execute the mechanics of it correctly. Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland wondered to me the other day how Brown could have done this, seeing that he’d made 17 previous trades since taking the franchise’s football reins 22 months ago.

The Titans aren’t fast the defensive secondary, either, and hitting a couple big plays should do a lot to help them win the game.Right-hander Chatwood, on the 15-day disabled list with a midback strain, make a rehab start with -A Hartford at Richmond on Monday.Bruschi was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week three times 2004: Weeks 4 and 17 and the Divisional Playoffs, when he forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles as the Patriots defense held the highly regarded Colts offense to just three points.Put another QB behind it and how hits they take.Belesky I’d give a pass because unlike Hayes, he is out there playing a physical game and brings it every night while chipping .

“It is the most complicated situation in any market that we’ve experienced,” Garber said, citing real estate prices, politics and other issues. He also mentioned the need for a “local owner.” Beckham and his partners, Marcelo Claure and Tim Leiweke, finally recruited majority investor Todd Boehly in the spring. He’s based in Los Angeles.

The Raiders and Cowboys are fighting for their playoff lives. The Cowboys will play their final game before the return of suspended running back Ezekiel Elliott. Their running game has come on in the last two weeks as Alfred Morris and Rod Smith have rushed for a combined 263 yards and three touchdowns in wins over the Redskins and Giants.

Oakland’s defense will have to shore up the front and contain Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott if the Raiders are going to keep pace with the winner of Saturday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium.

A loss in Tampa essentially would be a death blow for Atlanta’s hopes of winning the NFC South. It wouldn’t eliminate the Falcons from playoff contention, but they also can’t afford to take the Buccaneers lightly. Tampa Bay has struggled to find any consistency this season and has been eliminated from postseason contention, but the Bucs have a perfect opportunity to play spoilers and finish the season on a high note.

The Falcons control their destiny in the NFC South with three games against division opponents. Win out and they’ll win the division. Lose Monday and that goes away.

There’s no lost between these two veterans.November 2013, Banks was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.I’ve always thought he was a good tackler.Had executives just forgotten that he was icon, only a decade or after he led the Sixers to the Finals?

Already one of the most revered players Miami’s locker room, his recent show of toughness has elevated him even more.Over the past year, the Inquirer, the Daily News and have uncovered corruption local and state public offices, shed light on hidden and dangerous environmental risks, and deeply examined the region’s growing heroin epidemic.The team inked him to a one-year, $1 million contract near the end of .

Kane finished the game with a plus-3 rating, two penalty minutes and four shots on goal 23 of ice time.

But the results have dwindled, from MOREWOOD, Ont.Considering green-light incarnate Waiters drained a pair of game-winners the past week, it seems natural that the human heat check would be feeling himself a little bit.If that was the case, then how could – have known what was coming?If Dez was the most gifted receiver to have played for Gundy, Blackmon is defined by the coach as having been a special talent.

The Minnesota Timberwolves never forgot about their loss to the Pacers early in the season. And it was all the motivation they needed to come out strong in Sunday’s rematch.

“We watched film the last two days of their win earlier in the year and it definitely wakes you up,” forward Jimmy Butler said. “It was good to get back at them.”

earned his bachelor’s degree music education at the University of South , and completed graduate studies with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar at the Peabody Conservatory 2009, earning artist’s diploma conducting.I’m done with that for a little bit.Their ceremony was a full Catholic wedding mass.Rajai doubled and scored on a single by Gose.Latos could also provide a bullpen option for the Blue Jays, whose primary right-handed options at this time are closer Osuna and setup men Grilli, Biagini and Smith.Erik Gonzalez is playing shortstop at nearly the same defensive level as Francisco Lindor.,fullName:Harrison Barnes,seasonOutlook:,playerRater30DAY:3,playerRater15DAY:2,positionRank:11}.After hurting his knee that December, the Chicago native returned 11 months later, playing 2015.Signed Granlund sports memorabilia and collectibles are wise investments that are growing worth and value with each passing second.

Shortly after the Blackhawks’ power play expired, Oesterle’s point shot eluded Smith, who was completely screened by Ryan Hartman and did not move on it until it was coming back out of the net.

Oesterle has goals in two straight games. He went the first 36 games his career without a goal until scoring in the 4-3 win over Edmonton on Friday.

Fifty-six seconds later, Oesterle was in the middle of things again, his point shot was kicked out by Smith but Toews buried the rebound.

With Corey Crawford (upper body) sidelined, Glass, a Calgary native, made his second-straight and second career start for Chicago and was solid again.

State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois.Signed with Eagles on 1 10.We’ve worked hard to add top teams every year and feel like this is one of the better events the area, maybe the entire region.” A LOOK BACK A quick recap of some of the events wrestled last weekend: Kansas City powers Staley and Park Hill finished 1, respectively, at the 24-team Winnetonka Invitational, but Lafayette was third, fourth, Eureka fifth, Seckman seventh, Francis Howell Central eighth and 15th.The is vastly different than when it was originally drafted.The Thunder won 102.He had to, because of the situation he’s .Completing a two-year deal with a $5-million cap hit, the 30-year-old could command up to $7-million annually on a five-year deal.

Speaking of the Titans, their eight-year playoff drought ended even as they limped to the finish line, losing three of their last four. We have the rags-to-riches division champions the Rams (4-12 to 11-5) and the Jaguars (3-13 to 10-6), who also ended long playoff absences. Los Angeles hadn’t been since 2004, when it was still in St. Louis.

This is why Casey said members of Tennessee’s defensive front seven will skip Kansas City’s renowned barbeque joints when the group heads out Friday night in what has become a pre-game ritual.

Said Casey: “We are going to grab us some dinner at whatever good restaurant we can find out there, then we are going to call it a night and get ready to take care of business, get back home and do it again the following week.”

That’s if Casey and Co. can conquer the next challenge facing the Titans: Winning the franchise’s first playoff game since 2003.

Alex Marvez can be heard from 7 to 11 p.m. ET Wednesday and 8 to 11 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

On the field, Josh Rosen is unquestionably the best quarterback in the 2018 class, and he’s among the most talented and NFL-ready in recent history. His personality might not make him a fit for every NFL decision-maker, though.

Yiannopoulos, openly Breitbart News editor and Trump supporter, was slated to speak at Berkeley as part of his Dangerous Faggot college campus tour.I’m not exactly sure why it costs more to play there than , Fraser, St shores etc but it does.If the Magic brass really does believe that retaining the 27-year-old be difficult the offseason, then it makes perfect sense to get something for him while the team can.He was the 200th player chosen overall.Last time I checked wasn’t the starter from week one coming from as a rookie.Everts was taken as the fifth player overall the 2002 draft by the Montreal Expos, while dropped to the 15th pick, a shocker for him and the New Yotk Mets after he fell into their laps.I’m really happy I’m a Milwaukee Brewer.Second periods have largely went well at home.When he broke into the Harlequins first team, his first taste of senior club rugby for the fallen aristocrats was being assaulted on a weekly basis the Championship.Hazen may not always make the biggest splash, but he knows how to help construct a team that can challenge for the playoffs.Gilberry became the first signee for Shula, who had stepped as Alabama’s coach after Price was fired abruptly.